Chinese New Year 2010 Red Envelope Crafts for Kids: Lucky Red Envelopes & Tiger Cash

It is tradition for kids to receive red envelopes containing money on the Chinese New Year. Traditionally, this gift is given the morning after Chinese New Year's Eve. Turn this into a fun craft for kids by having them construct their own versions. Kids can craft these red envelopes from foam, felt or construction paper.

Supervise young children who are making this craft. If using a glue gun or glue that is not non-toxic, adults should do the gluing. Young children should use safety scissors, to avoid harm.

Kids Foam Red Envelope Craft for Chinese New Year

Materials:

6" x 8" Red Craft Foam
Glue Gun or craft glue
Gold Glitter Pen
Black Permanent Marker

1. Going lengthwise, fold the 8" side of the foam up one inch.

2. Glue in place

3. Fold one of the 6" foam sides in towards the middle, making a crease.

4. Repeat step three with the other side. Glue in place.

5. Use the gold glitter pen to draw a lucky Chinese symbol on your red envelope. Fu is one of the most common symbol used for Chinese New Year. It means blessing, good fortune and good luck. For examples of what Chinese good luck symbols look like, look here.

6. You can also decorate your Chinese New Year red envelope with gold borders, black outlining and other designs.

These same instructions can be implemented for felt or paper red envelopes.

Fake Money for Chinese New Year Red Envelope Craft

Materials:

Green Paper or green Construction Paper
Scissors
Black Marker
Gold Glitter Pen

1. Cut a regular 8" x 11" piece of green paper (construction paper also works) in half lengthwise.

2. Cut each half of paper into four segments, to represent dollars.

3. Using a black marker or gold glitter pen, write the denomination in the upper left and lower right corners. For example: $1.

4. The 2010 Chinese New Year is the year of the tiger. To represent this, have your kid draw a tiger face in the middle of the 'money.' Simple steps to draw a cartoon tiger face can be found here.

5. Let the money dry, the insert into the red envelope.

Have children pass out these envelopes the morning after Chinese New Year's Eve.

Sources:

http://chineseculture.about.com/library/picks/aatp_luckysymbols.htm

http://www.how-to-draw-cartoons-online.com/cartoon-tigers.html